Tuesday, 28 February 2012

At the end of the game Burtenshaw sank to the ground in
celebration "pumping his fists towards the heavens"

@6:49

There's been some talk about Mike Dean's reaction to 5aha's goal on Sunday. Not sure what he's doing but the Refereee of the 1971 FA Cup final seems to be quite oappreciative of Arsenal clinching the Double!

Monday, 27 February 2012

After the streets
are clear and hosed down after all good citizens are tucked up in bed and the
foxes and owls come out to feast. After the warm glow of a victory in North
London sees us safely to bed what is there to say about an extraordinary day at
the Emirates?

Balances of power, gap minding and new sheriff in town syndrome has to give way
to the cold clinical truth. A 10 point gap becomes a 7pt one rather than a 13
pointer. A rival humiliated in the final third of the game. Boasts neutered;
they came they saw we conquered.

The supporters, we played our part and the players responded to early set backs
with character and resilience. Of course it's only three points except it
isn't.; It was a big "shut your trap" to the voice of the media
lovely Lilywhites, a firm clip round the ear hole of the noisy neighbours.
Yesterday we showed that we are The Arsenal we took victory through harmony
literally

Saturday, 25 February 2012

Twelve defining
fixtures ahead, an ever expanding injury list, confidence and quality low.
Here’s an idea; loan out one of your squad who, perhaps lacking in confidence
or form, has quality. Arshavin has underperformed this season and clearly wants
to figure in The Euro’s so good old Arsenal are rewarding this underachievement
with a nice loan deal to enable this. I Like AA he had character, and in a squad full of blandness he was refreshing. He also leaves us with one or two tremendous memories.

We need all hands
on deck at the moment so to send Arshavin on the Siberian Express is
unfathomable. Then again we have Park and Chamakh, who Wenger doesn’t trust
enough to give first team game time to and we have Miyachi who is not being
bought back from loan.

Great let’s just
decimate our ranks even further, on the brink of a crucial game. Oh well, I love it when we are underdogs!

Despite all this
negativity I’m not down. How can I be? a game against that lot, early enough to drown sorrows/celebrate in the pub after. Come Sunday I’m there at The Emirates. Thick or thin,thick
or thin.

Friday, 24 February 2012

12 games, 36 points up for grabs; a set of fixtures of stunning
simplicity.

The Arsenal can end the season on a positive note by clinching a spot in
The Champions League. The importance of this is not just financial it’s also
about attracting the type of players that see Champions League Football as a
requirement.

Should Arsenal fail to qualify then The Europa League looks like the
alternative (although, let’s not take even that for granted), this impacts on
the Club’s appeal for top players to join.

Should we not achieve a place in either European competition it will be
a case of reaping what has been sown. It’s also a discussion point that
qualification to the ECL seems to be more about revenue rather than being ‘in
it to win it’. This is something of an indictment, as we have only ever looked like
winning it in 2006 and to an extent in 2004.

And the role of the fans in all this? That’s a tough one. I personally
believe that you have to stick with the players that we are, in effect, stuck
with, for these defining dozen fixtures. Nothing is going to change between now
and May 13th in either the playing staff or the managerial for that
matter, therefore we have to, by default, be looking ahead to the summer and
next season.

For me it’s not about finishing about any perceived rivals it’s about
taking something tangible out of this most wretched of seasons.

If next season compromises of taking part in only three competitions we
need to show a level of support that is reciprocated by the players who have
created the situation; although hopefully a number of them would have been sent
to pastures new.

No team or club has a divine right to anything and how we finish the
2011/12 season may well serve as a timely reminder of this.

Am I being overly negative? Possibly. If we win 5-0 on Wednesday we can
progress in the Champions League. If we win all our remaining fixtures and
other results go ourway we could win
the league with 79 points. But I don’t believe that the current set up is
capable of that, which in my book makes me a realist.

The Players need to show something now, starting on Sunday, they really
do, the fans, the season ticket holders those of us who are there through thick
and thin have nothing to prove.

Some songs
about Showing & Proving covering many years of Arsenal supporting. Just because

Wednesday, 22 February 2012

There have been many questions in the last seven days, the complexities of which are quite baffling, however, were I able to ask some questions they would be simple ones. Wouldn't it be nice to have some answers that were not in quotation marks?

If you can’t afford ‘top, top’
quality players you then have to play in a way which utilises the limitations
of the players you can afford don’t you?

‘Cutting
your cloth accordingly’

If you can afford top quality
players and choose not to; why not?

'Never let your persistance and passion turn into stubbornness'

If you believe you have a squad that are
of the requisite quality to play a technical game, where is the evidence in
achievement?

‘The
proof of the pudding is in the eating’

If one answer is budgetary, the other
answers must be based on choice, no?

“Cybil Fawlty; Specialist subject stating
the bleedin’ obvious’Just
because these are simple questions does not make them invalid ones.

‘The
great seal of truth is simplicity.’

﻿

*Then again he also said;

“Yellow matter custard, dripping from a
dead dog's eye.
Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess,
Boy, you been a naughty girl you let your knickers down.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen”.

Monday, 20 February 2012

“A relationship
Football Club, I think, is like a shark, you know? It has to constantly move
forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark.”-Alvy
Singer

As Dennis Bergkamp exited stage left held aloft by former comrades, the
last remnants of any inherited players said goodbye, leaving Arsene Wenger with
his first Arsenal squad that was 100% of his own making. Since that day came to
pass Arsenal have bought home zero trophies.

Arsene Wenger, given the chance to show the world that his creation, complete
and pure, constructed entirely by him, could deliver tangible rewards, has
reaped not one victory in that place where fact lives; the trophy cabinet.

On 24 occasions Wenger's 100% assembled squadrons have been found wanting when
they have had the opportunity to enter stage right with silverware held aloft.
These are the facts and they are incontrovertible, no amount of discussion
about the merits of the intangible 'fifth' trophy of 4th place can dispute this
damning evidence.

Interesting to note that the previous season although we won nothing we
reached the Champions League final and acquitted ourselves admirably yet Pires,
Campbell, Lauren, Cole and Reyes; players, all with winners medals, were, for a
variety of reasons deemed surplus to requirements or not sufficiently valued, during
that summer.

I
also can’t help but worry about this quote from our Manger following this awful
week’s results. It is alarming as it gives an insight into Arsene’s perception
of ‘big’ players and perhaps therein lays the flaw in the last six years.

"We
have many missing: big, big players, too. We're in February and [Jack] Wilshere
has played zero games, [Abou] Diaby has played zero games, [Per] Mertesacker is
out for the season and [André] Santos for three months. That would be difficult
for any club in the world to deal with. But let's win our next game and we'll
be fine."

'Big
big players? Diaby? Mertesacker? Santos?

“Philip
Parsons in the Times called the show Club moribund.
Well I looked up moribund in my dictionary...”-Alan Partridge

Sunday, 19 February 2012

Last nights
defeat at the stadium of light effectively ended another season’s quest for a
trophy and the truth of the matter is that it wasn't that much of a surprise.
The Arsenal of today is a team that wins a few draws a few and loses a few. A
team that are inclined to hamper any consistency with bouts of incompetence. A
team that lacks desire. There is something wrong at Arsenal football club and I
for one don't know what that something is. Without any insider information you
can only judge things on results and performances and neither of these things
have constant for a worryingly long time.

Is it about quality or capability or is it about something less tangible?
We faced a similar set of circumstances in 2004. Thwarted in the Champions
league by Chelsea bested in the FA cup by Man Utd we then welcomed Liverpool
who promptly went ahead in the game. The arsenal vintage 04 won the day and
fulfilled it's destiny.
We face part three of that set of circumstances when we host Tottenham. A win
is a significant moment in our quest for a European spot but one can't help
feeling that the current vintage may be found wanting.

Perhaps former nemesis Roy Keane summed things up on ITVs coverage of last
nights game when he said;
"You're on about trying to do well for your manager and once again they're
letting him down,This is probably the worst Arsenal team I've seen in all my
time of watching football."
"They've been sloppy, which led to the goal, there has been no focus to
their passing. It's been slow it's been sideways, it's been backwards.”

Hard to disagree;
we have seen the Invincibles become the Imponderables and although ‘crisis’ is
a word bandied about far too often our beloved club needs to take stock and
action.

Saturday, 18 February 2012

Tonight we go forth to compete for the one trophy available to provide a tonic fopr an unhealthy season, and I for one will be willing us on to beat Sunderland for the second time this week. In terms of Arsenal’s current state of health it is clear that antibiotics, alternative therapies and rest are not working it’s now time for major surgery.

I contend that a realistic scalpel needs to be applied and the following squad members removed

Arshavin-those 4 goals at Anfield seem a distant memory

Bendtner & Denilson-one foot out the door already, let’s slam that door behind themSquilacci-simply not good enoughAlmunia-No present let alone futureFabianski-cannot be relied upon therefore why continue with himChamakh-forgotten how to score goals and on the marginsPark-not trusted by Wenger, so little point in retaining himDjorou-Just signed a new contract so may get a few quid for him

When you look at some of these players it is mystifying as to why they are still receiving wages from Arsenal; perhaps the truth is no one wants to buy them. That’s an indictment, as there was a time when Arsenal players were much sought after.

Then there are the unknown quantities Eisfeld & Miyachi; no one knows what these guys are like. There are other players for whom opinions are split for one reason or another, Walcott, Rosicky, Benayoun and Gibbs

Obviously it is unrealistic to impose wholesale changes and it would be an acknowledgement that there is a problem should a large number of players leave. I believe that there are a number of Squad members who have either shown enough or have shown potential that can be a core squad that with the right quality of additions can begin a recovery process.

Let’s also be realistic in saying that, with the exception of RVP these players are not‘world class’ on a proven consistent level but I feel they can certainly give some body to a squad that has the requisite quality and character added.

This summer needs to see big changes that are added to in January and again in the summer of 2013 that’s the length of time needed to reinstate Arsenal at the top table I believe. But to make those changes it needs the Manager and the board to recognise the nature of the problem and sign the consent form for the surgeons to start their work on saving the patient.

The EUFA
Champions League now has a combination of fifteen teams standing in Arsenal’s
way. That’s technically true but realistically stupidity to suggest. A first
leg loss of 4-0 is insurmountable, pure and simple.

Was I being
realistic when I said I thought we could win the tournament that has eluded us?
I think I was. I believed that this Competition was there for any number of
teams to win, so why not us?

Barca, based on
last year and the quality of certain team members are favourites, but what of
Real Madrid who currently lead La Liga under Morinho. Bayern are a club who
have European triumph entrenched in their roots. The French Italian clash has
two teams both of whom are capable as does, perhaps, the tie between the light
blue and dark. With the spread of teams that were left, and crucially, only one
English team in the pot I felt it not unfeasible that we could go all the way.

I believed that our
spine looked better than it’s been with Szczesny, Vermaelan, Koscielny, Arteta,
Song and RVP. The return of Sagna at right back would only be a good thing and
the pace offered by Oxlade-Chamberlaine & Walcott might have proved
effective. Add to this mix the experience of Rosicky, Benayoun and the
unpredictability of Arshavin and there may have been potential for a fair
amount of uncertainty in our opponents. This was an acknowledgement of what we have player wise, not what we should have as a top club.

We are a top Club, just a top club with an average playing staff.

I was wrong
though wasn’t I? I was wrong because I didn’t predict that this set of players charged
with representing the Arsenal, would not turn up at The San Siro. I didn’t
predict the schoolboy errors, lack of desire, inability to vary the play. I
didn’t bargain for players not wanting to shine on one of the worlds great
footballing stages. Let’s not kid ourselves; AC Milan were a pretty good team
last night, no more than that, made to look like Brazil 1970 by our abysmal
performance.

A performance
lacking character, and that is something that has been absent for a number of
years.

Arsene Wenger and the board receive criticism on a regular basis with each disappointment and I am not going to go into that here. However, there comes a point when you have to be critical of the players themselves. Tonight was one of those points.

Regular readers know of my opinion that this squad is simply not good enough and ultimately the reason that this squad has been assembled is out of those players' control, but they are supposed to show more than they did last night. Time and again Arsenal have been found wanting on the pitch, this has been a regular pattern for over a year now and we are currently where we deserve to be; not where we think we should be. This is a crucial truth; we are where we are because that's how good we are, that's where this squad are at.

The rhetoric that we left Highbury in order to give us the ability to "Compete with the top teams in Europe" looks more and more like bullshit.

Before our humiliation last night I felt that it
really could be ‘up for grabs’ for a team outside the usual suspects to win the
Champions League; I still do, but it won’t be us, not ever with this current version of the Arsenal.

Wednesday, 15 February 2012

It's fair to say that our record in The Champions League against English clubs is not good, not good at all, however, under our current administration we have recorded memorable victories against Europe's elite. Lest we forget, we have beaten

AC Milan

Internationale

Juventus

Real Madrid

Barcelona

among others

Therefore I have my optimists hat on, so I say 'Come on Arsenal' this competition is up for grabs! A good result tonight may be a springboard for progress; A cup competition can be there for whoever dares to win.

Tuesday, 14 February 2012

We see
the beautiful game as something of a mirror to society and try to look on the
community of supporters as a positive force. A set of human beings with some
values borne out of an understanding of what this great sport of ours can give
us. However, it takes a certain amount of myopia from the Football Authorities
to proclaim that all is well. The issues that were amplified over the weekend
at Old Trafford cannot be trivialised when we see the full extent of hatred; in
any form. The violence is shocking as we see people attacked on a basis that is
a result of flawed thinking, and the powers that be proclaim all is well; all
is not well.

Saturday, 11 February 2012

Thick
and thin, ups and downs glory and despair; that’s the lot of the Arsenal
supporter and today we were put through the mill. In the earlier contentious KO
we saw Liverpool lose and given the shenanigans associated with them currently,
who wasn’t a bit pleased to see United win? Then it became clear that Chelsea
were going to lose just as we were trailing an awfully moribund Sunderland team
at the Stadium of dodgy pitch, then cometh the hour cometh substitute Ramsey
with an equaliser that had all of us looking to give a positive spin to a draw.
But, hold on, the fat lady was far from singing when substitute Arshavin
crossed for substitute Henry to claim the spoils.

And
so it was that we claimed three points exactly when we needed them. We took
advantage of those around us slipping. Throw in a couple of great Sczesny saves
and you could almost feel our ship of destiny changing course. With the Sp*rs
NUFC taking place as I type, the thing is that there cannot be a bad result,
just shades of better.

All
in all a good days football. Methinks that for once MOTD may be worth Sky+ing.

The
Arsenal have come out of today with all the positives and all the ‘under the
radar’ analysis. I’m happy about that. Let’s just keep doing what we do. For me
anyway, today felt like a significant moment in our destiny.

An extra word about Thierry Henry. In a climate where players are full of themselves and believe in their own inherent greatness it was lovely to see Thierry do what he does best. It's been great to be around for his swan song. On a day where race was an issue, a day when we saw how hurtful racism is , let's celebrate that we have a statue of a black man outside our stadium, he's there because hes a legend pure and simple. We don't question it or analyse it, we are the Arsenal and we are above such ignorance. Let's not forget that at the Arsenal we are as diverse a set of supporters as any club in the world.As a person of colour I embrace the Arsenal in all it's diversity; were special. Let's never forget that The Arsenal are great club and a true legend like Thierry shows us what a great club is all about.

Friday, 10 February 2012

So there is an
out pouring for an Englishman to Manage the England Team and good old ‘Arry is
the favourite. I can’t imagine it’s for his managerial record; 1 FA Cup, so it
must be that his credentials are his intrinsic Englishness, his car salesman
manner and his ability to be something of a Cheeky Chappie. If those are the
criteria here’s a list of potential competitors for the post

Sunday, 5 February 2012

No need for erudition, analysis or reportage, yesterday those of us emboldened enough (and loyal enough) to brave the Arctic conditions at The Emirates saw the Arsenal put seven past a hapless Blackburn. Goal difference greatly improved, three points tucked away and a morale boosting victory.

Saturday, 4 February 2012

I've used a lot of words this week when talking about The Arsenal so today I'm keeping it succinct; no smart
euphemisms or clever word play, just some blunt opinions and like all opinions, they come in different flavours .

Why are we
struggling and look unlikely to finish in a Champions League spot any time soon?
Why have we declined and faltered? Have a look at the squad

Fabianski-shocking

Almunia-more
shocking

Mannone-average

Park-not trusted
to play/not ready?

Chamakh-can’t
score

Walcott-inconsistent

Diaby-always
injured

Djourou-inconsistent

Squillacci-poor

Rosicky-best days
long gone

Benayoun-bit
parter

Eastmond-god
knows

Denilson-still
paying him; he’s awful

Gibbs-injury
prone

Arshavin-does he
even want to be here?

Miyachi-on loan.
Why?is he or isn't he up to it

Frimpong-on loan.
Why? is he any less effective than anyone else

These players
alone are not to be relied upon for the course of a season or are nowhere good
enough. This leaves a first XI that I would argue only 3 at most would get into
the starting line up of the big clubs, one or two young hopefuls and some reasonable, but not great players.

It’s a terrible
squad. That’s all there is to it. The where’s and whys are for those with more
information than I

Friday, 3 February 2012

Part of what any
company relies on is its product and assets. That’s basic stuff yeah?

A football clubs
product is what goes on out there on the pitch, its ability to entertain and
produce results, trophies and success.

Its assets are
the playing staff; it’s workforce if you like.

Investment is
needed in any successful business but getting rid of your assets without
gaining the finances with which to reinvest is a foolish approach, furthermore
choosing not to reinvest after losing assets couple be construed as asset
stripping. So far so simplistic.

It is a financial
fact that the building of the Emirates stadium was a venture that accrued debt.
Presumably a plan was put in place to repay that debt with some projections
based on future earnings development deals sponsorship and the like.

I wonder, was
part of this projection on repayment based on possible future sales of players?
This would seem like speculation in anyone’s book. If this was factored in
(hard to believe that this would be part of any sound business model) then it
provides some form of explanation as to why revenue from sales has not been
commensurate with expenditure on replacements. If this is not the case (as
seems more likely) any lack of expenditure has been through choice.

Adebayor, Clichy,
Fabregas, Tourre, Nasrihave all been
some of the more recent sales and the money generated from those sales (and
saved through wages) has clearly not been reinvested.

The question
remains; what exactly is the club’s financial policy? We keep hearing about
self sustainability but failure to invest is a foolishshort- term and long- term strategy when it
means the product; the football club, becomes less attractive to exterior
revenue sources.

The Supporters
will always remain; that’s what supporters do, but it is a cold hard reality
that success on the pitch attracts more opportunities to earn. The reason I am
focussing on money is because it seems to be the be all and end all as far as
the likes of Gazidis, Kronke et al are concerned. This in itself would point
towards them being poor business men as the clear decline of the club is
counter productive to increasing income. You don’t need an economics degree to
work that one out.

It seems to me
that Arsene Wenger is the perfect Manager for Arsenal Football club as run by
the current regime because he is balancing those books that seem to be the most
important thing to those upstairs.

What seems to
have been wilfully overlooked more than been forgotten, is that yes a Football
club is a business, but it’s a unique one by virtue of the fact that it is a
football club. There is no point of having success in the bank account when
there is no success in the league table or trophy cabinet. Something has been
neglected in the swirl of financial gluttony and obsession.

A great clubis obsessed with winning it is not obsessed
with book balancing.

Views, opinions and that...

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